High school volleyball: Avon opens season with two victories

AVON — Avon got its season off to a perfect start Saturday, winning a pair of shortened matches against Highland and Jackson without dropping a set. "I was very pleased with the performance," said coach Kara Coffman. "We have a very tough schedule this year and the two teams we played today were very talented, so opening our season with two wins was amazing." Avon took on Highland in the first match of the day, and came out flying, winning the first set 25-4. Things got a bit tougher in the second set, as the Eagles found themselves trailing 11-9 before a 9-0 run allowed them to take back control. "It was definitely good to see the grit come out of us," Coffman said. "We're definitely a team that is going to fight to win every single set and be aggressive." Avon finished off the first match in style, winning 16 of the final 22 points. The second match was closer, and Avon was unable to pull away from Jackson in either set until the end, winning the first set 25-20 and the second 25-19. Though there were a host of excellent performances for the Eagles, including Kaitlyn Pojman, who had 15 assists across the two matches, and Bethany Sherwood, who had nine kills against Jackson, the standout performer was Londyn Stone. The senior continued her quest Saturday to become the first Avon player to reach 1,000 career kills, a mark she will likely surpass in the next couple of matches, with nine against Highland and seven against Jackson. "I definitely have my goal of 1,000 kills," Stone said. "But my performance today didn't matter. The rest of my team was able to do what they needed to do and that's what's amazing about this team, we pick each other up." Stone is part of a tremendous senior class that began its final season together with major performances from Stone, Pojman and Sherwood, as well as Lily Hamilton, all of whose names were all over the scoresheet. "This year has brought us even closer than we were before," Stone said. "Going into this season, being our last season together, it's very sentimental to all of us, but it's been amazing and we've just grown closer every day." Throughout the two matches, the Eagles consistently had at least three or four seniors on the court at all times, and Coffman knows how important and how good her senior class can be. "I was very impressed with them today," she said. "Our senior class is very talented." As they begin conference play this week, Stone and the Eagles know Saturday's wins, while impressive, are only the start. "We've worked really hard to get to the place that we are right now," Stone said. "This is just the beginning for us, so we definitely have a lot more to grow and a lot better to get, but this is a great way to start the season. We got a lot of positive energy out of this." Avon 2, Highland 0 Highland 4-17 Avon 25-25 KILLS: H: Gigi Shank 1, Samantha Ross 2, Kamryn Heldreth 3, Abby Capper 1; A: Averie Reichert 2, Lily Hamilton 3, Londyn Stone 9, Kaitlyn Pojman 3, Bethany Sherwood 2, Clare Freaney 1. DIGS: H: Carley Niese 1, Lily Vojtko 1; A: Ally Brediger 8, Caroline Busold 1, Hamilton 1. ASSISTS: H: Emma Tramonte 1, Niese 1, Payton Hrics 2, Vojtko 1, Allison Stanik 1; A: Brediger 1, Hamilton 4, Pojman 7, Madison Demmerle 3. ACES: H: ; A: Hamilton 1, Pojman 3. BLOCK-KILLS: H: Ross 1, Heldreth 2; A: Stone 1, Pojman 1, Freaney 1, Peyton Reinart 1. Avon 2, Jackson 0 Jackson 20-19 Avon 25-25 KILLS: J: Rebecca Yockey 3, Taylor Sonnhalter 4, Taylor Brownsword 2, Morgan Rosenberry 1, Kate Hofner 4; A: Hamilton 4, Stone 7, Pojman 1, Sherwood 9, Freaney 1, Reinart 2. DIGS: J: Nya Hockman 1, Rosenberry 1; A:Brediger 8, Payton Shaner 1, Hamilton 2, Stone 2. ASSISTS: J: Rosenberry 12; A: Caroline Busold 1, Hamilton 10, Stone 1, Pojman 8, Reinart 1. ACES: J: Hockman 1; A: Stone 1. BLOCK-KILLS: J: Haley Thompson 1; A: Stone 1, Sherwood 1, AJ Belsheim 1.